Klarinet Archive - Posting 000784.txt from 1999/10
From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] No apologies after virtuoso is jeered at the Academy
Date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 16:37:35 -0400
David Blumberg sent us a link to a _Philadelphia Inquirer_ story by staff
writer Alfred Lubrano, about how the audience booed pianist Ivo Pogorlich at
the Academy of Music in Philadelphia last week:
<http://www.phillynews.com/inquirer/99/Oct/24/front_page/BOO24.htm>
We've had some discussion about audience behavior here before. IMHO, despite
the over-use of the standing ovation for performances that really don't
deserve it, most people feel confident about metering out appropriate levels
of applause to indicate approval, but I wish we had better agreement on how
(or whether) to express disapproval. When I was a small child, my parents
taught me typical "concert manners" for classical music in the U.S.A. -- sit
still and be quiet, then clap at the end, no matter what.
I still follow that advice, usually. The hypocrisy of insincere applause
bothers me but it's difficult to fight. (I did boo poet Kenneth Rexroth
once. Too off-topic, but I'll supply the gory details off the list if
anyone's interested.) No offense meant to those on the list who perform in
public, but audiences have a right to an opinion, and have the right to
dislike the music. Yet in the U.S.A., we regard anyone who protests as a
Yahoo. How about a sliding scale of expressions of disapproval? I set out
to write "modest proposal" humor here, but, come to think of it, only a few
of these examples strike me as funny.
Sanction 1: Kill the performer. (Obsolete.)
Appropriate: Never. Generally regarded as murder in civilized nations.
Example: The emperor, following the lead of the audience, gave "thumbs up"
or "thumbs down" to the losers of Roman gladiatorial competitions.
Sanction 2: Applaud the performance enough not to draw attention to oneself,
but later, foment reprisals against those responsible.
Appropriate for: grossly offensive conduct by the performer(s) in situations
where open dissent would endanger the audience.
Example (hypothetical): In Nazi Germany, by way of introducing the music,
the conductor reads aloud from Richard Wagner's anti-Semetic screeds,
expresses agreement with them and boasts that there are no Jews or non-whites
in his orchestra.
Sanction 3: Interrupt the performance by hissing and/or booing in loud but
low-pitched, stern tones, then walk out. In the most extreme cases, inform
law enforcement.
Appropriate for: illegal or morally unacceptable content.
Example: In the 1890s, someone toured the U.S.A. with a "carillon" of cats,
penned in tight cages on stools. The cats' tails hung out of the cages. The
"conductor" walked along pulling the cats' tails like bell ropes, to make the
cats cry out in their varying pitches.
Sanction 4: Scream invective, throw fruit, riot and walk out. (Caution: the
composer and/or performers may regard this sanction as a compliment.)
Appropriate for: indicating (a) extreme displeasure and/or (b) you are
conservative but the performance is revolutionary.
Example: The 1913 Paris premiere of Igor Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" ended
in a riot.
Sanction 5: Boo. Add razzberries, hisses and vituperation as needed, to
indicate the level of disapproval.
Appropriate for: incompetent performance due to sloppiness or misbehavior of
a performer capable of better.
Example (hypothetical): The soloist is drunk. She plays many wrong notes,
begins giggling uncontrollably, loses her place and has to start the piece
over.
Sanction 6: Boo lustily (but with good humor), fold up the concert program
as a paper airplane and sail it stagewards.
Appropriate for: "Mickey Mouse" behavior that disrespects the music and/or
the audience but does no real harm.
Example: Clarinetist Stoltzman, a callow youth at the time, once streaked
the stage.
Sanction 7: Remain silent at the end of the performance. (Caution: the
composer and/or performers may regard this sanction as a compliment.)
Appropriate for: deliberately weird performance, by a skilled, adult
performer.
Example: In the first movement of Piano Sonata No. 16, K. 331, Mozart marked
Variation 5 as adagio, but Glenn Gould played it allegro, among many other
eccentricities.
Sanction 8: Applaud with (insincere) enthusiasm.
Appropriate for: poor performance, with mitigating circumstances.
Example (hypothetical): The beloved 97-year-old conductor appears to nod off
at the podium. The orchestra slogs on without him, although the ensemble
grows increasingly ragged.
Sanction 9: Give polite, tepid, brief applause.
Appropriate for: bad performance by the exploited victim of cynical handlers.
(Skewer the handlers later, if possible.)
Example: David Helfgott (subject of the so-called documentary film, the
heavily fictionalized "Shine"), or the latest cute little 12-year-old prodigy.
Note: In countries other than the USA, feel free to translate into the
appropriate idiom. For instance, in Mexico, substitute whistling for booing.
Judgmentally,
Lelia
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